Saturday, 15 July 2017

Love's Debt...

Lost love is something we have all
experienced at some time or another.

It may not have been a great love affair
but at sometime we all feel that rejection or loss of knowing that someone whom
we could have potentially loved has now gone. Maybe it was you who ended the
relationship because you could see no future, or the involvement with that
person would have been detrimental to someone else you love or even to
yourself.

The idea for my Victorian novella, “Love’s
Debt”, came to me while my husband and I were walking the Bristol docks in
South West England. They are famous for being one of the biggest areas of
British industry during the 18th & 19th centuries. It
was the setting and an image of the hero and heroine arguing at the quayside.

Once I saw that, I knew it was just a case
of figuring out the who, why, what and when.

I knew the heroine’s heart was on the line,
she was frustrated and afraid. I knew she was fearful of losing this man who’d
come into her life unexpectedly.

Every story starts with something like that
for me, either a setting or a flash of dialogue. Writing isn’t easy but it’s SO
worth it – more than that, I couldn’t stop now even if I wanted to. It’s a
compulsion. A need.

Once I started writing “Love’s Debt” the
story flowed fairly easily because I tapped into my own feelings of lost love
and what I would do if that person suddenly walked away, couldn’t hear
me…couldn’t see me.

As writers we need to delve deep and really
remember the emotions we have felt in the past and present in order to make our
characters real and even better, memorable. So when Milly fears she may lose
whatever it is she has started with Joseph, I filled every part of me with the
same hurt, desire and love I might feel if I was thrown into the same position.
Especially because, in Milly’s case, Joseph hasn’t betrayed her, physically
hurt her or even lied to her – he just thinks he’s doing what is best for her.

You can be angry when someone walks away
without as much as a goodbye, but what if their reason is something they
genuinely feel. Then what do you do??

Here’s the blurb & buy links:

To keep herself from
the depths of poverty, Milly Shepherd needs to be appointed manager of the Red
Lion Tavern. The elderly owner is in failing health and has promised her
the job permanently if no one more suitable applies. Milly will fight
with her entire being to make the job her own.

Joseph Jacobs needs to
supplement his income to pay off his father’s creditors and save him from
debtor’s prison. Though the job as manager of the local tavern looks
promising, Milly is favored by both the owner and customers. Instead,
Joseph swallows his pride and agrees to tend bar.

As they work together,
their attraction grows, their goals cross, and both Millie and Joseph find they
must face their fears …the question is whether they face them alone or
together?